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Do any of you use a global banking facility? That is maybe you have an account in the UAE but access it EASILY anywhere? I am not keen on keeping money here with our pending departure, but I do not want to repatriate my funds. The interest here is useless, so I am not sure what to do. I was in HSBC today and asked a few questions, but I am not sold.

The rates in Australia are 5.5% per annum, but will pay 10% tax on interest earned. HSBC Premier offers 3.4% and no tax on interest. To open and maintain the HSBC account, you need a balance of 350K AED....does anyone know how effective their money management skills are if you diversify your deposit? I know nothing about this, but surely earning 1/4% interest in Emirates NBD is a foolish way to go. I have already wasted 3 months.

HSBC claims it is easy and seamless and you can use multiple currency. I hear horror stories about every bank, but curious if anyone has any ideas?

I am essentially looking for an easy way to keep money offshore, access it easily via ATM, and not pay crazy fees. With the Aussie dollar on par with the USD, I would like to wait for it to tank before bringing it home. The last time it tanked by 30% in just 3 months, so I am happy to wait a bit.

Cheers. DD

Maybe I'm missing something but if Australia is paying 5.5% interest less !0% tax (or .55%) the you would be getting 4.95% return which is more than 3.4% !!! So a no brainer. Even with the tax burden you will be ahead of the game with Aussie interest.

What do you mean by the bank's "money management skills". They manage their own money not yours. HBSC seems to be doing an ok job as they are one of the largest banks... To manage your money you need yoursel and a good financial advisor (although most are crockpots!).

Just open an online account in a reputable bank. If I were you I would open it in Australia - sure you'll pay some taxes but it would be worth it as no one is going to seize your money (revolution might spread....)

The biggest thing is that I do not want Aussie dollars at this point. I would like to keep my AED as AED or USD. When my residency is complete in Australia,I will pay 50% tax on the interest. There are definitely costs and benefits to both. It is also not a smart idea to repatriate larger sums all a once. It raises flags, even though all is legit.

dubaidog wrote:The biggest thing is that I do not want Aussie dollars at this point. I would like to keep my AED as AED or USD. When my residency is complete in Australia,I will pay 50% tax on the interest. There are definitely costs and benefits to both. It is also not a smart idea to repatriate larger sums all a once. It raises flags, even though all is legit.

once you are out of UAE (non resident) your choice of a AED account is gone...so just open an online account (in dollars).

What about a Canadian bank (but online account)?

Ambassador wrote:

dubaidog wrote:The biggest thing is that I do not want Aussie dollars at this point. I would like to keep my AED as AED or USD. When my residency is complete in Australia,I will pay 50% tax on the interest. There are definitely costs and benefits to both. It is also not a smart idea to repatriate larger sums all a once. It raises flags, even though all is legit.

once you are out of UAE (non resident) your choice of a AED account is gone...so just open an online account (in dollars).

What about a Canadian bank (but online account)?

Not strictly true Ambassador! I do not have a residency visa for Dubai, as although I do have a place I never visit for more that 28 days. I am an HSBC Premier customer and I have an account at HSBC in Jebel Ali, which I've had for a number of years. I can only speak highly of HSBC, I am a Barclays Business customer aswell and they are pretty sh1te, I have to say.
I use internet banking. There is a global banking icon at the top of the page and when I click on it I can access my Dubai account. I have the facility to transfer money between the UK and Dubai and the funds are available instantly. My friend also uses her Premier facility to transfer money to Canada.
I have no idea about interest rates, I couldn't tell you what they are in Dubai or the UK. Money gets paid in and I spend it, that's all I know about. I don't think I pay massive charges, I haven't noticed any.
I have ATM cards, I can use my Dubai one in the UK, if I can remember the PIN and my UK one in Dubai. I like them they are black and very shiny. Hope this helps.

Why don't you see a financial advisor? It will cost you to do so, but you may get some good advice along with where to put your money where it will be secure. If and when I leave Dubai, I would make sure my money left before me. HSBC in Dubai operates like any other local bank in Dubai.

Here is my 0.02 cents worth.
I have had an absolutely horrible experience with the HSBC Premier account in Dubai. When I was leaving Dubai I opened an account with them in US$. I opened a chequing account, and at the time I was assured that the minimum was something like $5000/, which I was comfortably within the limit. I also invested some money in their mutual funds. I was given all the VIP treatment, and I thought all was hunky dory. About 6 months later I received a letter telling me that they had raised the limit, and would be charging something like a $100/ on a monthly basis, starting this month! I wrote back to tell them that my chequing account was not the only account with them, and they should refer to my Investment with them, to which I never received a response. I had other things going, so forgot about it till about 8 months later, when I discovered that they had been religiously deducting US$100/ from my account every month. I called up on the phone, and no one seemed to know what was happening; that after keeping me on hold for an hour. I was lucky to get my money out. The mutual funds were dirt. My advice: STAY AWAY FROM HSBC DUBAI (OFFSHORE)!

Canadian Banks are the best. You dont pay tax here if you are "non-resident".

Thanks for the varied input. Now I am totally confused.

@BM, glad you had no hassles. I am in the same boat as you, no residence visa and wanting an easy banking solution. The HSBC pitch was pretty good yesterday.

@BB. I agree, but I have found most advisers are trying to push "their" product. Have any contacts?

@Zonker. Sorry to hear about your hassles. I am looking to do what you did. Open a USD offshore account and tap the resources as i see fit. HSBC did not mention any charges to me of course. The difference is though, that you opened a checking account. As I am not a resident of the UAE, I cannot get (nor do I want) a checking account. You mentioned a minimum of 5000 USD for a Premier account. The are telling me I need 350k AED.

If I need to have a minimum balance of 350k,I better get something in return!

Hate to break it to you but this is not a big dilema...Unless you are talking about tens of millions of dollars.

If what you want is "security' then take the money with you and be a good citizen and pay whatever taxes you need to pay in the country you are in. Having the money in the bank (in 1st world counties) is the safest place period (of course with safety come low returns).

Financial Advisers are just people who spend more time reading articles and "guessing" and have no real accountability. Just read the prospectus and you will find that they are not responsible. Ever wonder why all the people that loose their money in the market, etc. never have recourse (unless in the case of fraud)? if is "buyer beware").

If you want to "multiply" your money the best investment used to be real estate (and pehaps is now is - but not in the UAE). The other has been the stock market (but that is a gamble and therefore you should only invest money that you do not need for a while and undestand that you can lose it).

Thus all financial advisers will tell you that you should "diversify" which in my opinion just covers their behind more than yours (as they earn on every trade and get commission from selling you a mutual fund).

Bottom line. Take yoru money with you and invest on some property in AUS if you have money left invest 50% of it in the market or mutual fund (you can open up an E-trade account with a few clicks of the mouse and a 5 minute visit to an office (if you are not a USA citizen) to prove that you are who you say you are).

Or send the money to me...

Yes,we are not talking millions here. The KEY thing is that the Aussie dollar is at an all time high right now an the last time I sent money back,the dollar dropped by 30% in 2 months time. I do not want this to happen again. Have a look at this chart and see how quickly it can change:

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from= ... UD&view=5Y

So you see it is not about tax evasion or anything, just trying to avoid losing a bundle down the road. I figured a nice easy term deposit in an offshore USD account might be the way. I am not into gambling, just do not want to leave it here.

There is a Lloyd's bank on Al Wasl Road near Union Coop. You may want to check with them about offshore banking.

http://www.lloydstsb-offshore.com/

Also Barclays does offshore banking:

http://www.offshore.barclays.com/international-banking/

I have been with HSBC (previously Midland Bank in the UK) for a considerable amount of time, and to be honest I find them to be the best.

DD, you seem to be mainly concerned about the current exchange rate, which you feel is going to imrpove in your favour at some point. Fair call.
In that case, foreign exchange investment might be your thing.
For examples sake lets assume that the Aussie dollar is not going to go above $1.10
You leverage 100,000 USD to buy 1,000,000 USD against the Aussie.
Every 1c swing in the Aussie will then equal a 10,000 AUD swing of your investment.
When the time that you will be waiting for comes and the Aussie tanks and goes to 75c, your $100,000 USD investment will be worth $350,000 AUD rather than 100,000 USD x 1.33 AUD if it was not leveraged.
The only drawback is that if the Aussie reached $1.10, your 100,000 USD is gone. You can reduce the risk by reducing the leverage to say 5x, which would allow you a 20c margin call, but also reduce your returns.
I think you might have to wait a while before the Aussie tanks, but even a 1c swing in the short term would be worth $10,000 to you. You just have to remember the golden rule, buy low sell high (or in this case buy high, sell low).